With the announcement of this year's Academy Award winners --
handed out last weekend -- comes the inevitable complaining about what won and
what didn't. Around this time, it's fairly common to hear the opinion that the
Oscars don't matter, and looking back at past winners, it's frequently the case
that the best films of any given year don't end up taking home awards -- many
more don't even receive nominations.

Yet despite
the myriad problems with these kinds of awards, they're valuable for the way
they can act as a spotlight for the little-seen cinematic treasures that sneak
onto the ballots. Even those smaller films that go home empty-handed benefit
from the attention that comes from having their titles noticed by a national
audience of millions. Though they each lost their chances at Oscar glory, two
exemplary nominees are making their way to Rochester.

In Jean-Pierre
and Luc Dardenne's lovingly humanistic drama, "Two Days, One Night," Best
Actress nominee Marion Cotillard plays Sandra, a factory worker who learns that
she's to be laid off following a temporary leave of absence while she battled
clinical depression. Sandra is told that she may be able to keep her job if
she's able to persuade the majority of the 16 other factory employees to forgo
their annual bonus so that she can be rehired. A vote will be conducted by
secret ballot, and she has the weekend to visit each of her peers and plead her
case. It's a pride-swallowing task for anyone to attempt, let alone a person
already at a low point. She reluctantly makes the rounds, knocking on the doors
of her coworkers, and each new encounter raises its own moral questions.

Sandra is
aware that the position she's putting her co-workers in isn't a fair one, and
each react to her plight in different ways -- one bursts into tears at the sight
of her; another berates her. Many feel guilty, but each has their reasons for
voting the way that they did: The 1,000 euro bonus could go a long way for any
one of them, many of whom are depending on that money to get by. "I didn't
vote against you, I voted for my bonus," one explains apologetically.

The question
mark hanging over everything is whether Sandra will be able to work, even if
she manages to get the necessary votes. She's fragile and dependent on
medication, not to mention afraid to return to a boss who's made it pretty
clear that he'd rather she didn't stick around. Her husband, Manu (Fabrizio
Rongione), offers unyielding support, though the film understands the
simultaneous frustration and concern that comes with loving someone with
depression.

As
directors, the Dardenne brothers favor long takes, allowing (their admittedly
somewhat contrived) scenario to unfold in a way that nevertheless feels
naturalistic, lending a sense of intimacy to each moment. Cotillard, who's in
nearly every scene, delivers a profoundly moving performance as a woman forced
to assert her self-worth, to herself as much as to her coworkers. The
filmmakers have a deep empathy for their characters, crafting a touching
examination of compassion, human nature, and the constant need to fight for our
place in the world.